II Kings 22:19 says, “Because thy heart was tender, and thou hast humbled thyself before the Lord , when thou heardest what I spake against this place, and against the inhabitants thereof, that they should become a desolation and a curse, and hast rent thy clothes, and wept before me; I also have heard thee, saith the Lord.”
Josiah’s tender heart displayed itself in the face of God’s wrath. Because of this, the whole nation experienced great revival. It was the wrath of God, not the wooing of God, that produced a tender heart.
I will never forget my last spanking. I was 15 years old. I had been spanked countless times before that. It was never something I liked. Mom gave me whippings. Dad gave whalings. I had a fear of Dad as long as he lived. However, we loved each other deeply. Dad was my hero. Spankings did not cause me to rebel, but reboot. The last whaling made me think.Â
Dad had been working overseas for the last eighteen months. Mom and I were getting by at home. At fifteen years of age, I had a deep desire to have a car. I knew how to drive (I thought). When opportunity arose, I took Mom’s ’55 Ford out on several joy rides. I can see why they called them joy rides. I was quickly addicted. It ended soon when I got caught. I was shaking like a leaf. Mom didn’t whip me. “I’ll let your Dad take care of this when he gets home,” she calmly stated. The plane arrived. We hugged Dad and got in the car. Almost immediately, Mom broke the news. Dad didn’t say anything to me. As soon as we got home (still no words), Dad simply took off his belt (I wish he had learned to wear suspenders) and administered about five swats. I cried. It didn’t smart as much as earlier times. It did break my heart, knowing that while Dad was out working, I had let him down. It was me who caused Dad’s happy homecoming to have a dark shadow.
Josiah rent his clothes and wept. It was not even Josiah’s sins, but his father’s that brought on God’s wrath. Sin breaks God’s heart, and it ought to break our hearts. Josiah’s tender heart did something about sin. He did all he could to get rid of it. He got rid of false worship, false priests, sodomy, killing of children, etc. Today if we dare say a word about any of these things, let alone go out and do something about them, we are accused of hating.Â
A tender heart is not a cowardly heart. The tender heart is not a “fuzzy feeling” heart. The tender heart wants to obey God. The tender heart first deals with its own sins.
Josiah rent his clothes. These were kingly garments. We must first see our own worthlessness before we deal with sin in our land. It was prophesied that Josiah would do this very thing (I Kings 13:2-3). There was a sign given with this prophecy; “the altar shall be rent.” Immediately, the altar was rent. When king Josiah rent his clothes the prophecy began to be fulfilled.
The tender heart is the Godly heart. Even before the cross, Jesus shed, as it were, drops of blood from His broken heart (Luke 22:44)—His tender heart. The tender heart does something about sin.
Lord, give me a tender heart!
